Step 1: Select The Object You Want To Apply The Motion Blur To
Use the selection tool of your choice (Lasso Tool, Pen Tool, etc.) to draw a selection around your main subject. When you're done, you should see a selection outline (sometimes called "marching ants") around the entire object (or person, whatever the case may be). Try to make as accurate a selection as possible. For best results, I highly recommend using the Pen Tool. Check out our Making Selections with the Pen Tool tutorial for full instructions on how to use it. You can also read our Full Power Of Basic Selections In Photoshop tutorial for help with getting the most out of Photoshop's basic selection tools:
Use the selection tool of your choice to draw a selection around the main subject.
Step 2: Copy The Selected Area To A New Layer
With the subject now selected, we need to copy it to its own layer. Copying a selection to a new layer is done exactly the same way as copying an entire layer. The only difference is that only the area inside the selection gets copied. Go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen, choose New, and then choose Layer via Copy:
Go to Layer > New > Layer via Copy.
For a faster way to copy a layer or selection, simply press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (
The preview thumbnail shows us what's on each layer.
Step 3: Apply The Motion Blur Filter
With our subject now on its own layer and separated from the rest of the image, we can apply our motion blur effect to it. Go up to the Filter menu, choose Blur, and then choose Motion Blur:
Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur.
This brings up Photoshop's Motion Blur filter dialog box. First, set the Angle
of the motion blur streaks so that they match the direction your
subject is moving in. In many cases, the direction movement will be
horizontal, either left to right or right to left, so an angle of 0°
would work perfectly. In my case, the racecar appears to be moving
uphill slightly, so I need to set my angle to around 2°. You can use the
angle control wheel to the right of the input box to
help set the angle by clicking inside of it and dragging your mouse to
rotate it, keeping an eye on your image in the document window for a
preview of the angle as you're rotating the wheel. You can also simply
type a value for the angle directly into the input box and then use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease the angle. Hold down your Shift key as you press the Up or Down arrows to increase or decrease the angle in 10° increments.Next, drag the Distance slider at the bottom of the dialog box to set the length of the motion blur streaks. Dragging the slider all the way to the right will give you the longest streaks and is usually what you want for this effect, but again, keep an eye on your image as you drag the slider for a preview of the results:
Adjust the angle of the blur to match
your subject's direction of motion, then set the length of the blur
streaks with the Distance slider.
Click OK when you're done to exit out of the Motion Blur
dialog box and apply the blurring to the image. Your photo should now
look something like this:
Faint motion blur streaks now appear in front of the subject.
We'll finish off the effect by intensifying the motion blur streaks and masking away the areas we don't need next!Here's how the image will look after giving the racecar a high speed motion trail:
The final "motion trail" effec